Bruce Freund on sun 10 nov 02
How do we as Ceramists know when we have free silica in the air ?
I work in an enclosed large room with air conditioning going all of the
time. We NEVER work with clay when it is hard enough to make dust and we
constantly clean all of the tables and apparatus. when we throw we
constantly clean all of the equipment. We clean with wet rags/sponges every
hour or so. the place literally looks like an operating room. The floors are
hard tile and they get completely mopped down every day. All of the tables
are formica. When we construct we work on plywood or canvas and sponge every
30 or so minutes.
With all of the above being meticulously done we "still" have light clay
dust if you rub your finger. It is very, very light, but there.
Again, I ask "how does one know?".
Does anyone know of any type of "metering" equipment or something?. After
reading all of the posts it makes one very concerned to say the least....
Bruce Freund
Dave Finkelnburg on mon 11 nov 02
Bruce,
Great question you have raised! If you are really serious about your
this, it would be very helpful to find an industrial hygienist to advise and
assist you.
The measuring device you are looking for is an air sampler, a continuous
pump, that pulls a known volume of air per unit time in through a special
filter. After a period of time, which is recorded, you remove the filter
and weigh the material on it and analyze the material.
The weight tells you how much "dust" you collected. The analysis can
tell you the size of the material particles, or the composition, such as is
it silica? The air sampler may be worn on you, to check your personal
exposure to dust in the air, or placed somewhere, to check the amount at
that location.
For a personal sample you can calculate approximately how many grams of
dust are present in each cubic meter of air you are breathing.
The equipment and the testing cost some money. I would like to see some
organized testing like this in ceramic studios of different sorts, from
individual studios to schools to guilds. The whole point is to try to see
how much cleaning and ventilation it takes to have studio air acceptably
clean.
I am not alarmist about this. There is free silica in air. The
question for potters, from studio potters to industrial potters is, how
much? I am interested because learning more about this is one of the goals
of the Health and Safety Committee of the Potters' Council. I encourage
anyone on the list who has access to information about studio air quality,
including data, test methods, etc. to please share it with the list, or if
you prefer, please contact me as a representative of the Potters' Council.
In particular, if you have done air sampling, or know of someone who does
and is interested in this, lease let me know. Thanks!
Yours for cleaner studio air,
Dave Finkelnburg in Idaho, where the snow has melted one more
time. One of these days it will stay around for a while...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Freund"
> How do we as Ceramists know when we have free silica in the air ?
> Does anyone know of any type of "metering" equipment or something?. After
> reading all of the posts it makes one very concerned to say the least....
Michael Wendt on mon 11 nov 02
Bruce,
Why not collect and save the dust that settles until you have enough to have
it analyzed at a lab. The cost is low compared to the peace of mind knowing
the actual composition. The dust we find at home is normal dust that comes
in with the air leaking in from outside, mostly so why not in a studio kept
as clean as yours?
Regards,
Michael Wendt wendtpot@lewiston.com
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Avenue
Lewiston, Idaho 83501
1-208-746-3724
wendtpottery.com
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